My husband and I love to go out walking but we are not really great with hot temperatures. Okay, I am also not good with cold temperatures but that is another post for the future. Our walking day was 29C / 84F. Looking at it written out like that I realise that for many that would seem a bit wimpy but we are used to about 20C / 68F this summer so that big jump is harsh. By the way, it has been hotter but we were lucky it was not on our walking day.

I am afraid that this week I do not have a new route for you as we kind of failed on our walk. We went into Apsley Wood between Woburn and Woburn Sands, Bedfordshire but we crossed over our planned route and accidentally turned ourselves around at some point. We are not entirely sure what our route was. That is absent-minded for you.

I would highly recommend walking in Apsley Wood though and you will get pictures. Though it is not a huge wood it does have many footpaths as well as a mountain bike trail that looks like lots of fun. Walking seems to be free but you do need a permit from the Greensand Trust for mountain biking and horse riding. It is ok to walk on the bridleway (remember horses have the right of way there) but please stay off the mountain bike trail if you are walking as that is dangerous for both you and the cyclist.

Since we knew it would be hot and sunny on our ghostly pale skin we considered our route. Something undercover would be best and that is why we thought of going for our walk in the woods specifically. Apsley Wood is nearby and we were curious. We didn’t know it was so well established and with so very many parking areas. We parked in a carpark off the main road between the villages because that is what we had seen over the years. That worked fine but know your options are open on that.

In addition to choosing a sheltered environment for the walk we also were careful to use our sunblock and wear hats that shaded our faces. The hats hold in the heat in our heads so not entirely ideal but at the same time protected our scalps from burn as well. If you haven’t burned your scalp before be thankful! Our sunblock was spf 50 as anything less doesn’t give us enough protection and anything more isn’t really available in the UK.

The next thing we considered was hydration. Normally I just pack water as that is enough but as I knew we would be sweating more electrolytes seemed like a good idea. I really like this one by Veloforte as it has a nice flavour and it provides some carbohydrate support for harder efforts in addition to providing extra electrolytes. It is also vegan. We used it to fill up my hydration pack. We have used a few other electrolyte drinks in the past but most have been like drinking salt water and almost none had and sugar in them due to the popularity of artificially sweetened everything. I originally bought this for running when the sugar is particularly helpful but even when walking this product is great.

Having considered the location, skin protection, and hydration the main thought was fuel. We try to remember to take some snacks when were are out walking or cycling. Trying to be whole foods plant based does have its challenges at times. Popping into a petrol station on the way to a walk likely will not provide options that we can have. We tend to pack fresh or dried fruit for our walks and as we planned a shorter walk we didn’t take that much this time. For longer walks I have a few go to items that work pretty well.

• Fresh or dried fruit
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Naan
• Clif Blocks (as an emergency item)
• Nuts

The other things that we packed were extra water that Alan carried, hand sanitiser, baby wipes, plasters (bandaids,) and a map. We of course completely ignored our map as we tend to be wanderers which is why I have no route for you this week. We should have had our fabric masks as well but forgot to pack those. Luckily, we didn’t need to be close to anyone and didn’t need a shop. I will add that to my walking checklist for next week though.

I will leave you with a gallery of photos from Apsley Wood to wet your appetite for you next wander around the woods. I hope this post is helpful in some way and if you think of anything else for me to add to my list for warm weather walking please comment below and don’t forget to like and share.

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